Special VOICES Web
Asian Pacific American History

"It was because of my grandfather's story and stories that
belong to everyone who have Chinese and Asian American parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents that shows that we have
indeed contributed a great deal to the building of the United
States. But stories about the APA experience should not
only be told to just me and [other APAs] but to all Americans,
and that we should be part of the history of America because it
is important that Americans understand our past, the importance
of our presence, and how critical we are to the future of
America"

Americans of Asian Pacific descent are one of the fastest
growing groups of immigrants in the United States. They are
probably also the most misunderstood. For various reasons,
many are not familiar with that part of the world. People from
Asia have played important roles in the settlement and
development of this country, especially in the West.

In 1976, when America was making plans to celebrate its
bicentennial, Jeanie Jew, president of the Organization of
Chinese American Women, was concerned that Asian Pacific
Americans were not being included in the celebration.

"We were excluded from those stories during celebrations of
the country's bicentennial," Jew recalled. "We were literally
ignored even though we were part of building this country."

Jew’s grandfather had come to America to find a better life
and worked with thousands of other Chinese immigrants to build
the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Later, he became
a successful prominent business person and community leader.
In the late 1800’s, Chinese were being blamed for the variety
of economic problems. Asian Pacific Americans were beaten and
killed.

Jeanie Jew’s grandfather was murdered when he tried to speak
out on behalf of his people. His death was a direct result of
the ignorance of the significant work that Asian Americans
contributed to the founding of America. Now wonder she felt
compelled to speak out.

At the time, American had been observing African American
history and Hispanic heritage. It just made sense to honor the
contributions of those from Asian descent.

The first ten days of May were chosen for the celebration
because the first Japanese immigrants arrived on U.S. shores
on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental
railroad was marked by Golden Spike Day on May 10, 1869.
Celebrating Asian Pacific American history in May also allowed
activities and events to be included in schools across the
nation.

President Jimmy Carter signed the resolution to observe Asian
American History on October 2, 1978 and the first Asian
Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated in May 1979.
This resolution, however, did establish a national
celebration. Jeanie Jew, and her supporters had to lobby for
the commemorative law to be re-authorized each year.

In 1992, both the both the House of Representatives and the
Senate unanimously agreed to create a resolution that would
permanently designate May as Asian Pacific American History
Month. On October 23, 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed
the bill into law.

To the granddaughter of an Asian American that was murdered
because of public ignorance about Asian American’s
contributions to this county, the creation of an annual,
month-long tribute was important. It did not, however, erase
the pain of her personal loss. Jeanne Jew devoted a major
portion of her life fighting to get America to observe the
many ways her ancestors helped make America a mighty nation.

"What started out as a dream in a young woman's eye has
become, I think, the single-most significant event to honor
Asian Pacific Americans," Jew said. "It may have started in
Washington, but it now crosses each state and every state has
its own significant manner in which to celebrate it.”

“My dream continues,” Jew added. "Hopefully I'll live long
enough to see more of my dream realized. It is a journey, it
is a dream; it is an Asian American dream for us to continue
because each generation puts their stamp on what this month
means to them."

While today the celebration of Asian Pacific American history
is a joyous event, all of these celebrations for the different
heritages that build this country involve and acknowledge a
people who were once excluded and neglected. No, paying homage
to people that were once disrespected or even persecuted does
not make past wrongs right.

It is a way, however, to create a more meaning dialog in this
country and build an appreciation for diversity. People from
Vietnam, India, China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Fiji, the
Philippines, Thailand, and many other nations, as well as the
islands of Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii, have enriched
every aspect of American society.

Spending some time each year acknowledging and honoring the
talents, intellect, and determination of immigrants is
important. It is part of our national heritage. It is also the
best way to ensure that Americans will never again commit acts
of violence against any ethnic group out of ignorance and
intolerance.

Here are some resources
to learn more about the contributions of Asian Pacific
Americans. Conducting a search for information in an
organized manner will help us locate what we need with the
least amount of work. It also helps ensure that we start
projects with
good information. To see an easy to follow outline to
help organize a research project, check our Mr.
B's "Take Five" Research Process.
To see more about
writing, please look at Mr. B's Writing Quick Tips for
"tips & tricks" and links to other Websites that
cover virtually ALL aspects grammar and writing.

Topic:
The contributions diverse
people built this country. Understanding and appreciating this
diversity begins when we honor and celebrate many ways individuals and
groups of people influenced U.S. history. People of Asian-Pacific
descent have been living in the U.S. since the mid-19th century, but
only recently have that large immigrations and sweeping political and
societal changes allowed the Asian American population to become a
significant participant in U.S. society. Studying the rich
heritage of Asian Pacific Americans allows all Americans better
understand the value of diversity on our nation's history, culture, and
economy.

Library Subject Headings. Understanding the
difference between keyword
and subject heading searches is important.
Keywords represent text that appears in a document.
Subject headings are assigned by an information specialists to
help researchers identify resources that cover similar topics.
A powerful tool, subject headings create connections between
sources and allow a user to benefit from someone else's work
classifying information.

Computerize library catalogs, can be searched with
keywords, just like most Internet search engines.
Many useful resources, however, do not share keywords -- this
means they will not be located by keyword searches.
Subject headings, however, identify documents that contain
information about similar topics even when those documents do
not share keywords. Here is a listing of common subject
headings (Sears), typically used in public and school
libraries.